The Hospital Authority said on Monday that it will expand its facilities to treat patients with cardiovascular disease, after the first chest pain centre accredited by the nation’s standards was established at Queen Mary Hospital last July.

The centre was a measure first laid out in the Chief Executive’s Policy Address in 2023 and aims to shorten treatment times and boost survival rates of cardiovascular disease patients.

Those who arrive by ambulance undergo electrocardiography tests on the vehicle, with hospital staff informed about the results.

Cardiovascular disease patients who don't arrive by ambulance go through a "green channel" at the hospital to be seen by a triage nurse quicker.

The authority said patients can finish all the required tests in half an hour, and undergo angioplasty surgery if necessary within 90 minutes of arriving at the hospital.

Queen Mary Hospital’s Chief Executive Theresa Li said the authority hopes to develop a more comprehensive system to treat heart-related illnesses.

“Our mission is to build a network within all Hong Kong public hospitals as a whole system in terms of tackling chest pain,” Li said.

“We need to treat [the illnesses] in a more timely manner, and actually build a network of chest pain services. We don’t want individual hospitals to do well but the others are not doing so well,” she added.

The new clinical building of Queen Mary Hospital will have a room dedicated for angioplasty treatment, with boosted connections with the accident and emergency department to shorten patient transferral times.

Prince of Wales Hospital is also setting up the city’s second chest pain centre, which will start operating in the first quarter next year.

Cardiovascular disease accounted for 13 percent of total deaths in Hong Kong in 2023, according to the authority.